While many Muslims don’t drink alcohol, the people of Batroun, Lebanon love their beer. At least according to Jamil al-Haddad, the visionary behind Colonel beer and a new microbrewery built out of recycled materials.
Jamil has been brewing beer for a very long time, and took several classes abroad in order to hone his craft.
“I was 17 when I started to make liqueur at home, Irish cream, banana, strawberry. I started in order to make a bit more money so I could buy myself windsurf boards,” he told Lebanon’s Daily Star. “I began while I was in the boy scouts, and then I made it at home.”
In addition to brewing a fine micro beer called Colonel, the 30-year-old entrepreneur commissioned Cedar Environmental to help make the building in which this alchemy takes place a powerful showcase of renewable materials and clean energy – a very ambitious move for the coastal business.
Related: Why Muslims Don’t Drink Alcohol
The brewery’s walls are clad in recycled wooden crates and the wall panels designed by engineer Ziad Abichaker are comprised of bricks made of melted down recycled plastic. The brewery has used up the equivalent of two million plastic bags, according to Your Middle East.
Other recycled materials have been incorporated into the project, which eventually will include a restaurant, bar and other facilities that Jamil has up his sleeve.
“This will be an outdoor area for barbecues, beer festivals and other cool summer events,” he explains to Daily Star, and a spot near the sea has been designated for small bungalows.
The idea is to create a welcoming and an educational space for visitors, who will be able to take tours of the brewery before or after eating a wholesome lunch.
:: Daily Star
Image via Your Middle East
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
